Beijing issues measures to boost economy-wide renewable energy consumption
Beijing wants everything to run on renewable energy.
On Wednesday, the macro planner (NDRC) and five other agencies issued guidelines on accelerating the adoption of renewable energy.
The guidelines' targets are extremely ambitious. Notably:
- By 2025, China will see annual renewable energy consumption reach 1.1 billion tons of standard coal equivalent (SCE) – a 30% increase from 2023 levels, and 10% above Beijing’s original 2025 target.
- That’s set to grow another 36% by 2030, to 1.5 billion tons of SCE.
ICYMI: In 2023, China’s renewables installation efforts surged to levels previously thought impossible.
- 2024 is shaping up to be an even bigger year.
Rather than focusing on accelerating renewables installations, the guidelines place greater emphasis on increasing demand for renewable energy. For example:
- Upgrading grid infrastructure and developing flexible power capacity to cope with renewables-driven grid instability
- Promoting green hydrogen production, industrial electrification, and the relocation of energy-intensive industries toward renewables-rich regions
- Accelerating the adoption of renewable energy and biomass-based solutions for central heating, cooling, water heating, and household appliances
Get smart: Renewables installation growth is surging – without infrastructure upgrades and increases in downstream electricity consumption, China's grid will be overwhelmed by renewables output.
- The pace at which key sectors of the economy – namely industry, transportation, and heating – shift from using fossil fuels to electricity will determine whether China can sustain its current pace of renewable capacity expansion.
The upshot: Electrification of the economy will become a central policy focus in the coming years.